Russia has submitted a formal proposal to the First Committee of the UN General Assembly to relocate this body from New York to either Vienna or Geneva amid the unfriendly visa policies of the United States, a source within the United Nations told Sputnik on Friday
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2019) Russia has submitted a formal proposal to the First Committee of the UN General Assembly to relocate this body from New York to either Vienna or Geneva amid the unfriendly visa policies of the United States, a source within the United Nations told Sputnik on Friday.
A week ago, Russia has voiced this proposal at an informal session of the First Committee, which deals with disarmament, international security and global challenges and threats.
"The draft decision to relocate the functions of the First Committee has now been officially submitted," the source said.
He added that the project was expected to be voted upon in November.
When the United States denied visas to several members of the Russian delegation to the UN General Assembly's high-level week in September, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that his country might resort to advocating for the relocation of the UN headquarters to ensure that all delegates, designated to represent the interests of their respective countries, have access to the organization's working procedures.
Earlier in October, Russia's Deputy Envoy to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy proposed to relocate the First Committee from New York to either Vienna or Geneva, citing obstacles that the Russian diplomats encountered in obtaining US entry visas.
Similar proposals have been previously voiced by a number of other countries, including Iran, Libya and others. Located in the Turtle Bay area of Manhattan, the premises of the UN Headquarters are a so-called extraterritorial zone that is governed by the 1947 Headquarters Agreement between the UN and the US. According to Article IX, Section 23 of this document, the headquarters can be relocated should the United Nations "so decide."
